


this dance we do

by clutzycricket



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Discussion of Abusive Relationship, F/M, Look at the first pairing and get it, messy breakups, women defending women
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-24
Updated: 2016-10-24
Packaged: 2018-08-24 09:11:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8366584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clutzycricket/pseuds/clutzycricket
Summary: In time, she would come to terms with Joffery being a manipulative little shit, but his timing was awful and Sansa is......very lucky for such meddling roommates.





	

The words echoed in her mind, driving out the sight of Marg Tyrell’s baffled expression before understanding and rage set in, driving her spiky heels to click, click, click in a pace that would have Arya making some stupid remark…

The door flew open, and she missed the sight of Elia and her cousin sitting up from their video game, and Trys and Maddy Hightower peeking out from their poky little kitchen.

She sat on her bed in misery, not sure what to do next. Elia would want to burn the pictures of Joff, she knew, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it just yet. She had some of her work to do, but she couldn’t give it the attention it deserved.

_I’m a stupid, naive little twit who doesn’t deserve… no, no, no, he did this._

Sansa shook her head and wondered if she should tell her parents personally. It would be painful- her father had a very rosy image of Robert Baratheon in his head, helped by physical distance. And Robb would be full of “I-told-you-so”s, between threatening to murder Joff.

Maybe she’d just read a book or put on her Netflix queue. But her bookshelf was by the window, and she wasn’t sure she could believe in a happy ending right now.

There was a knock at her bedroom door, and she unfolded her painfully asleep legs and made her way over.

“Your very brave and noble roommates took a vote and decided I should be the one to enter your den right now,” Aegon Targaryen said, ruefully. He was holding a bottle of the sangria Elia hoarded and two of Maddy’s oversized glasses. “I figured sangria might help. Please don’t bash me over the head with it, I’m pretty sure Mythbusters said that would kill me.”

“I won’t,” Sansa reassured him. He’d grown up with El and her seven sisters, that seemed a fair fear. “It was nice of you to see how I was.”

“Hey, Elia doesn’t give up the stuff that actually comes in bottle easy,” he grinned, wry and easy. El said he was actually a genius, under the piercings and shockingly violet hair. 

And the tattoo sleeves. Which were actually very nice art. 

“El said your boyfriend was an asswipe beyond repair, and dumped you via voicemail,” he said, collapsing on her desk chair and opening the bottle. “Speaking from experience, it sucks, allow me to commiserate.” He offered her a glass.

“Your girlfriend dumped you by voicemail, too?” Sansa asked.

His smile turned a bit sour. “Text, actually. While I was buying the ring, which should be in some tacky romcom. She’d met someone else, and wanted to tell me when she realized she liked him better.” He sighed. “Can’t blame her, Devan Lannister has arms like a Hemsworth and Des wasn’t much for talking.”

She giggled. “Margaery is a sweetheart,” she said, ruefully. “I don’t think she had any idea, really- he said they’d gotten together only a month back, and I can’t see her as the other woman.”

“As someone who went to school with Margie Tyrell since we were five, I can’t either,” Aegon admitted. “If I was Joff, I’d be worried about Loras- Margie likes letting him act as her temper.”

“She’s probably going to dump him in a spectacularly embarrassing manner,” Sansa agreed, not trying to hide her vindictive glee. 

“Don’t you have something big coming up? El mentioned it a lot, between talking about her horse sanctuary,” Aegon asked, tilting his head.

It was sweet that El was telling people- well, El sweet, which was a slightly crankier version of Arya sweet. She resolved to do something nice for her friend, maybe make a desert that she knew Elia loved next time she cooked. 

“I work at an art gallery, and tomorrow is this event I am in charge of- your cousin Arianne’s work, actually. It’s amazing, and I was so thrilled about it, but I knew Joff was unhappy that I was…” She bit her lip. He’d been upset about a lot- how much time she spent with her job or with her roommates had turned into “why do you work/why do you live with three other people, one of which is a man?”

When she put it that way, she wanted to kick Joff and then herself.

“Ah, my sister had a boyfriend like that in med school- my older sister, Aliandra doesn’t date,” he said, a self-mocking glint in his eye. “Her roommate was one of Elia’s sisters.”

“So the body was never found?” Sansa managed a watery smile. 

“No, no, he currently sells appliances in Nebraska,” Aegon said wryly. “Nym thought that he’d learned his lesson.”

She giggled. 

“Now that you mention it, I know the event- my mother told me to clean up for it, but Arianne said I would be a nice piece of decoration,” he added, dark eyes wide and taking another mouthful of sangria. “In your professional opinion?”

She looked carefully over him, trying not to blush or stammer. He really wasn’t her usual type, but there was a treacherous, angry part of her brain thinking that was a good thing. “I think that it might be an interesting contrast if you wore dress pants and a solid oxford in…” Hmm, she would want to play it off his warm skin and the hair… 

“Eh, I think I have one in the back of my closet,” he waved his hands. “I can fix my hair. El said the prick was supposed to come with you?”

“Yes,” she managed, the wave of misery back. Joff might come by tomorrow, either because he’d talked Margaery into believing his side of the story or because he hated not having someone.

That would ruin the night.

“Hmm, and I don’t have a date, which will prompt questions from Ari and Ty,” he mused, rubbing his chin. “And Aly mocking me.”

She wondered about mentioning that he seemed fond of romance cliches, but that would probably be inappropriate.

“Team up?” he asked. “I’m surprisingly good at small talk, a terrible geek, you can tell people I’m a partner in a business, and I know every good Greek restaurant in town.”

“What business?” she asked.

“Two, actually- a catering company I inherited from my gran, and I also help do ghost tours,” he said, grinning. “I’d stick with the catering, maybe.”

She giggled.

~

Elia looked at Trys, then held out her hand. “Pay up.”

Arianne looked at them, beaming. “I taught you so well,” she said, conveniently overlooking the sheer frustration dealing with a younger Elia had been for her.

“I think you cheated,” Trys said, furrowing his eyebrows. Sansa turned in their direction, and Elia dropped her hand as they turned to study a picture.

“How could I have cheated? I don’t exactly have love-in-idleness on my shelves.” Elia was remarkably good at talking while keeping her mouth closed. “Admit it, I was great.”

“You did something,” Trys guessed, less subtle. 

“Was Rhae involved? It is her brother we’re talking about,” Arianne mused, trying for innocence.

Trys looked at Elia’s expression and the momentary look of guilt and panic, with a touch of defiance. “That _is_ cheating.”

“Rhae isn’t really the goddess of accidental matchmaking, you know,” El said dryly.

“Can’t tell from the evidence,” Trys pointed out.

“Oh, trust the lawyer…”

“The lawyer who pays a bigger share of the rent then you do,” Trys said, smirking. 

“I can’t help it if I had a better argument,” Elia shot back.

“And I’m taking this as a sign I should go back to my poor date-” who, funnily enough, Rhae had introduced her to. Which was undoubtedly part of the evidence Trys was thinking of. “And you to should remember that you don’t want to ruin tonight for your cousin or your roommate.”


End file.
